Canadian rapper Drake has escalated his legal battle with Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the label of further damaging his reputation by promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” during major cultural events, including the Super Bowl and the Grammy Awards.
In a newly amended complaint filed Wednesday in a New York federal court, Drake’s legal team alleges that Lamar’s Grammy wins and Super Bowl halftime performance helped introduce a wider audience to lyrics that the rapper claims are “false and malicious.” The complaint specifically points to lines in the song that label Drake a “certified pedophile” and a “predator” who should be “placed on neighborhood watch.”
Although both artists are signed to UMG—under different divisions—the two were embroiled in a heated and highly publicized diss track feud in 2024, with Lamar emerging as the chart-topping victor. Drake initially sued UMG in January, arguing that the company actively defamed him by backing and amplifying Lamar’s controversial track.
Last month, UMG filed a motion to dismiss the case, calling Drake’s claims “no more than an attempt to save face after his failed rap battle.”
In the latest filing, Drake’s lawyers emphasized the massive exposure generated by Lamar’s performances at the Grammy Awards, where he took home five trophies, and at the Super Bowl halftime show watched by over 133 million people. While Lamar omitted the word “pedophile” during his Super Bowl rendition, the complaint insists that the performance still drove up streams of the song and, in turn, increased threats against Drake and his family.
“The Super Bowl and Grammys are prestigious and high-exposure events that introduced new listeners to the defamatory song,” the amended suit states. “Not only did the song’s streams surge following these events, but so did the volume and severity of threats directed at Mr. Graham [Drake] and his loved ones.”
